Post by UKarchaeology on Aug 18, 2015 11:47:24 GMT
(2015) A decision to protect the remains of a Roman farmstead on the site of a proposed new distribution centre in Wiltshire has been upheld.
The Range wants to build a 72,000 sq m regional centre and store at Allington, near Chippenham, next to the A350.
The firm behind the planning application argued the site was not of national importance, and should not be classed as a national monument.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport dismissed the appeal.
Howard Ham, of the Allington Action Group, said he was pleased with the decision.
"I'm delighted. To have legal protection on the site makes it very, very difficult for this application to go ahead."
Mr Ham said the archaeological site had been known about since 1976, but it was only scheduled as a national monument by Historic England earlier this year after archaeologists carried out a dig as part of the planning process.
A spokesman for First Industrial, the company behind the planning application, said it would review the decision and decide what steps to take next.
Wiltshire Council said the planning application was now unlikely to be discussed before the end of September at the earliest.
The applicants have said the scheme would create 1,000 jobs and bring £31m each year into the Wiltshire economy.
An online petition, objecting to the plans, has received more than 1,700 signatures, while over 1,200 people have signed a separate petition calling for the development to go ahead.
(source/pic: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-33714162 )
The Range wants to build a 72,000 sq m regional centre and store at Allington, near Chippenham, next to the A350.
The firm behind the planning application argued the site was not of national importance, and should not be classed as a national monument.
The Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport dismissed the appeal.
Howard Ham, of the Allington Action Group, said he was pleased with the decision.
"I'm delighted. To have legal protection on the site makes it very, very difficult for this application to go ahead."
Mr Ham said the archaeological site had been known about since 1976, but it was only scheduled as a national monument by Historic England earlier this year after archaeologists carried out a dig as part of the planning process.
A spokesman for First Industrial, the company behind the planning application, said it would review the decision and decide what steps to take next.
Wiltshire Council said the planning application was now unlikely to be discussed before the end of September at the earliest.
The applicants have said the scheme would create 1,000 jobs and bring £31m each year into the Wiltshire economy.
An online petition, objecting to the plans, has received more than 1,700 signatures, while over 1,200 people have signed a separate petition calling for the development to go ahead.
(source/pic: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-33714162 )